Specifications recommendations

**BadFever** · 07-20-2007, 03:30 AM

Originally Posted by Cheung

Thanks for the advice!

Regarding the RAM it's usually DDR2 667 that is advertised. Assuming I will go E6600, would there be much difference with DDR2 800 or 1066? I'm not sure of the price difference between the different RAMs yet.

Secondly, I will get a motherboard with 4 slots for RAM. Is it possible to just fill 1 slot with 1x2Gb RAM as opposed to 2x1Gb?

If DDR3 is so new, I am unlikely to use it. My present computer uses RAMBUS which was used as a selling point - it turned out to be a poor choice.

1) DDR2-667 is currently the mainstream RAM. They are the cheapest to get. I can't see any noticable different in real life applications except when running some memory benchmark. I am not sure about the price in HK though, but unless they are very close, no point getting DDR2-800/1066.

2) No point in getting single piece of 2GB RAM as most motherboard will only take to the max of 4GB RAM. Well, except for the latest Intel P35 series motherboard, which can accept 8GB in total. But bear in mind that under 32bit Windows environment, 4GB is pretty much the optimal RAM recognised. In order to use beyond 4GB, you have to start using 64bit Windows, which is currently pretty useless as there are no applications written for it yet. Also, motherboard nowadays adopt dual channel memory technology. It will run up to 20% faster when running RAMs in pair compare to single piece. This you can see the different when running memory intensive apps.

3) Wow, you are still using Rambus in your current PC.

This only tells that you are not into PC stuffs (not an enthusiasts). So, no point chasing after latest and the greatest for your case.

I would suggest you get either E6600 or E6750 or Q6600. Get either Intel 965i or P35 type of motherboard. Max the ram to 4GB. Currently the RAM is dirt cheap. As for the rest, the cheapest the better.

***Cheung*** · 07-20-2007, 08:27 PM

I passed by very quickly in one computer centre last night. It was very late and only a couple of shops open. They couldn't give me a price for the E6600 or the Q6600. Apparently, these chips have are gong to have a lower price next week. Any present price quotation would be the old price.

I think Kwun's price for the 500Gb hard drive is pretty low. I could only see prices at about US$180 for WD 500Gb whereas a 320Gb 16M is half that price.

Umm, you are right! I am a more of a badminton fanatic than a computer fanatic

But it's nice to now these things to get a more informed decision.

Thanks to everybody, I've got a good idea of what to buy. Looks like I'll wait a little longer before putting the system together. I may compromise on the bigger hard drives and get the 320Gb option initially. It's no big deal to open the computer up and change a drive at a later date. I like the idea of having two smaller drives as silentheart suggested.

**BadFever** · 07-20-2007, 11:26 PM

US$180 is a bit pricey. Try to bargain down to about US$160. If you have very good bargaining skill, US$150 is achievable. That should be a good buy for WD 500GB.

You don't have to wait any longer for the Intel price drop cos it's today, 21/07/2007.

Good luck with your new purchase.

**silentheart** · 07-20-2007, 11:59 PM

We had a good deal here last week.
http://bensbargains.net/merchants.php/13/1

***kwun*** · 07-21-2007, 12:41 AM

cheung if you can wait i can buy one for you here and bring it back. but it will be quite a few months' wait.

**ctjcad** · 07-21-2007, 12:54 AM

Originally Posted by BadFever

You don't have to wait any longer for the Intel price drop cos it's today, 21/07/2007.

Originally Posted by kwun

cheung if you can wait i can buy one for you here and bring it back. but it will be quite a few months' wait.

..and with technologies (ie. computers etc.) keep on improving, prices will keep going down..Of course, new technologies will come out..

***Cheung*** · 07-21-2007, 11:41 PM

Originally Posted by silentheart

For best performance is actually go with 4 drives config (it is more complicated because you need to load 3rd party raid drive during install). Get 2 identical small SATA drives (ie 2X80GB or 2X100GB). Install OS on the raid drive. Get 2 big HD (ie 1X500GB for source and 1X500GB for target). If video editing is important to you, I actually will go with dual boot option. With 2 smaller HD, you can install OS X with 1 drive and Window in the other. By the way, OS X is much faster for video editing if you use Adobe Premier. Also make sure you get 2GB of RAM. Xp will max out at 2 GB and Vista will be fine with 2 GB.

Hi, sorry to go back to this issue on the drives.

If this is the config you recommend for videoediting and OS X and XP are on each smaller drive, which drive should the PS scratch disk be allocated to? Originally, for photoshop, the 2nd small drive was the scratch drive. Can OS X and PS scratch share the same drive (assuming OS X and PS on XP are not running at the same time)? Or would partition of the 2nd small drive be better - 1 to hold OS X and the other be the PS scratch drive?

Sorry if I am asking the obvious!

**silentheart** · 07-22-2007, 01:08 AM

Hi Cheung,

Actually, it is a fair question. I have always left the scratch drive same as the OS X drive. I made the assumption that when I buy a new Mac with OS X, it only have 1 HD and that is fine for Mac to handle PS. Since that is the case, I just left it as is. Sorry, I do not have better explanation than that.

***Cheung*** · 07-29-2007, 09:06 AM

OK, so I got my new computer at last. It seems to work really fast. This is the 2nd website I've visited (the first went to MS homepage!)

I got a Q6600 - price was cheaper than newegg.com. ASUS mobo P5Kdeluxe
2Gb Corsair RAM
3 HDDs
1 DVDR which isn't opening up when I got home (it was opening in the shop

)

**ants** · 07-29-2007, 10:13 AM

Congrats in ur new purchase.

**silentheart** · 07-29-2007, 10:26 AM

Let us know how it goes. Have fun!

**BadFever** · 07-29-2007, 08:26 PM

That's one hell of a PC you got there. I would categorise you as a computer enthusiast now.

Next time, remember to go to "Control Panel->Internet Settings" and change the default webpage to www.badmintoncentral.com before starting IE for the first time.

***kwun*** · 08-01-2007, 12:14 PM

Originally Posted by Cheung

OK, so I got my new computer at last. It seems to work really fast. This is the 2nd website I've visited (the first went to MS homepage!)

I got a Q6600 - price was cheaper than newegg.com. ASUS mobo P5Kdeluxe
2Gb Corsair RAM
3 HDDs
1 DVDR which isn't opening up when I got home (it was opening in the shop

)

that is a really sweet setup Cheung.

now i regret upgrading to dual core Athlon a year ago. should've waited to upgrade to Core Duo's.

**Pete LSD** · 08-01-2007, 04:14 PM

Congrat on your new system, Cheung

. That's one wicked multimedia system.

**Pete LSD** · 08-01-2007, 04:15 PM

The past is the past. We can't do anything about it

. Your system should last you another 4 years.

Originally Posted by kwun

that is a really sweet setup Cheung.

now i regret upgrading to dual core Athlon a year ago. should've waited to upgrade to Core Duo's.

***Cheung*** · 08-03-2007, 08:20 PM

Originally Posted by BadFever

That's one hell of a PC you got there. I would categorise you as a computer enthusiast now.

Next time, remember to go to "Control Panel->Internet Settings" and change the default webpage to www.badmintoncentral.com before starting IE for the first time.

I managed to fix the plastic door to the DVD R with some DIY and elbow grease. The tray came out fine- just the plastic door had become jammed.

I do have an external DVD R lying around somewhere so when I get round to that, I'll put that in.

Still haven't had time to really get going on the computer. Ordered a 22" monitor as well. Will arrive next week!

Me, a computer enthusiast? That's the biggest laugh

I nearly bought the P5K3 board but somebody pointed out it would not be much use.

I notice some reviews say that the Q6600 cannot be overclocked but the price drop overcame that issue.

I reckon by the time I replace the RAM with DDR2 1066 (or is it 1333?), it would still keep me happy till the next major upgrade.

So current plan is, get the new screen, fit in the DVD R, fit another HDD in good time, upgrade to Vista in a couple of years, then upgrade the RAM etc.

Actually, I learnt a fair bit from this exercise. I might have a go at replacing the processor from my old computer and fitting a wireless card. There must be plenty of 2nd hand P4 processors around (it's a 1.6Ghz processor) . Need to check the mobo for compatibility. It's still useful for the kids to play and general web browsing.